Jim Schwab, FAICP, has received the 2024 Jennifer Ellison Distinguished Service Award, presented by the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery (HMDR) Planning Division of the American Planning Association. The award honors exceptional volunteer service to the Division.

Jim’s service includes holding numerous leadership positions. He says, “It has been pure joy over the previous six years to serve on the Executive Committee as Chair-Elect, then Chair, then Immediate Past Chair, to lead two rounds of nominations for FAICP among our members, including five inductees, as well as leading the ongoing documentary film project, ‘Planning to Turn the Tide.’” His guidance has created a very forward-looking division and now a top division within the American Planning Association. 

Jim received his master’s of Urban Planning from the University of Iowa in 1985, along with a concurrent master’s in Journalism. Through his career with the American Planning Association, he has become an international expert and frequent speaker on mitigation of natural hazards, disaster resilience, and recovery planning. Since 2017, he has worked as an independent planning consultant, and since 2008 he has also been an adjunct assistant professor with the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa. He is also a certified instructor for FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute.